.Act: One of the main
divisions of a play. Shakespeare's plays each
have five acts. Each act is subdivided into
scenes. An act generally focuses on one major
aspect of the plot or theme. Between acts,
stagehands may change scenery, and the setting
may shift to another locale.Antagonist: A Character,
situation, feeling, idea, or
thing that opposes the main character, or protagonist. Alarum: Stage direction
indicating the coming of a battle; a call to
arms.Arras: Tapestry hung on the
stage to conceal scenery until the right moment.
In Hamlet, an arras played a crucial
role. Polonius hid behind one to eavesdrop on a
conversation between Hamlet and his mother,
Queen Gertrude. When Hamlet saw the tapestry
move, he stabbed at it, thinking King Claudius
was behind it, and killed Polonius.Aside: (1) Words a character
speaks to himself only; other characters on the
stage cannot hear the words. However, the
audience hears everything. (2) Words a character
speaks to a nearby character or characters but
not to any other characters on the stage. The
audience hears everything. Balcony:
Area above the stage roof used
for balcony scenes, such as the one in Romeo
and Juliet,
or for seating musicians or members of the
audience.Burden: Refrain of a song;
recurring theme. Burdens
occur in two of Ariel's
songs
in
the
second act of The Tempest.Catchword: In published
Shakespeare plays in earlier times, catchword
referred to a single word on the bottom of the
right side of a page. This word was the first
word appearing on the next page.Chorus: The chorus was a
single person who recited a prologue before Act
1 (and sometimes a passage between acts) in Henry
V, Henry VIII, Troilus and Cressida, and Romeo
and Juliet. Generally, the chorus informed
the audience of action offstage or outside the
time frame of the play.Dialogue: What the
characters say to one another; conversation.Dramatis Personae: List of
the characters in a play. Such a list is found
at the beginning of each Shakespeare play. Enter: Stage
direction indicating the entrance
onto the stage of a character or characters.Epilogue: Short address
spoken by an actor at the end of a play that
comments on the meaning of the events in the
play or looks ahead to expected events; an
afterword in any literary work.Excursion: Stage
direction indicating that a
military attack is taking place. The opening of
Scene II in Act III of King John
contains such a stage direction. Exeunt: Stage
direction indicating the departure
of two or more characters from the stage.Exit: Stage
direction indicating the departure
of
a
character
from
the stage.Fair Copy: Play manuscript
after it has been edited. Flourish: Music usually
introducing the entrance or exit of a king or
another important person. The music may consist
of a short trumpet passage. Foul Papers: Original
manuscript of a playwright which was later
edited.Gallery: Roofed seating area
of a theatre, such as the Globe, that resembled
the grandstand of a baseball park. The Globe had
three galleries that could accommodate 2,000 to
3,000 playgoers.Hautboys: Stage direction
indicating that entering characters are playing
hautboys (OH bwah), which are Elizabethan oboes.Heavens: Ceiling of
the stage roof, which rested on columns. An opening in the ceiling
allowed actors to enter a scene on
a rope or another device.Hell:
Area beneath the stage
floor. Stagehands could
create sound effects in this
area. In addition, actors
beneath the stage could
enter a scene through a trap
door built into the floor.
Induction: Preface or
prelude to a play. The Taming of the Shrew
contains an induction that precedes the main
plot. Master of Revels: Government
censor who examined all plays for offensive
material.Monologue: Long
speech spoken by a character. He or she may
address the monologue to one character or
several characters. If the speaker is alone
on the stage, he usually delivers his
monolgue as if he is talking
to himself. In reality, is addressing
the audience. Probably the most famous
monologue in Shakespeare his Hamlet's
"To be or not to be" speech in Hamlet,
Prince of Denmark,
beginning at 3.1.66.Passes Over:
Direction indicating that a
character is walking across the
stage while other
characters are conversing.
Such a direction occurs several times in
the second scene of
Act I of Troilus and Cressida.
Following is the script of part of
this scene.

∆NEAS
passes over the stage.

PANDARUS Thatís
∆neas: is not that a brave man? heís
one of the flowers of Troy, I can tell
you: but mark Troilus; you shall see
anon.

ANTENOR
passes over.

CRESSIDA Whoís
that? PANDARUS Thatís
Antenor: he has a shrewd wit, I can
tell you; and heís a man good enough:
heís one oí the soundest judgments in
Troy, whosoever, and a proper
man of person. When comes Troilus?
Iíll show you Troilus anon: if he see
me, you shall see him nod at
me.
CRESSIDA Will he
give you the nod? PANDARUS You shall
see. CRESSIDA If he do,
the rich shall have more.

HECTOR
passes over.

PANDARUS Thatís
Hector, that, that, look you, that;
thereís a fellow! Go thy way, Hector!
Thereís a brave man, niece. O brave
Hector! Look how he looks! thereís a
countenance! Is ít not a brave
man?
CRESSIDA O! a brave
man. PANDARUS Is aí not?
It does a manís heart good. Look you
what hacks are on his helmet! look you
yonder, do you see? look you there:
thereís no jesting; thereís laying on,
take ít off who will, as they say:
there be hacks! CRESSIDA Be those
with swords? PANDARUS Swords?
any thing, he cares not; an the devil
come to him, itís all one: by Godís
lid, it does oneís heart good. Yonder
comes Paris, yonder comes Paris.

Prologue: Introduction of a
play. In Henry V, a chorus (one person)
speaks a prologue that encourages the audience
members to use their imaginations to create what
an Elizabethan stage cannot: battlefields,
clashing swords, the might of warriors.
Shakespeare writes, "Think when we talk of
horses, that you see them printing their proud
hoofs i' the receiving earth."Protagonist:
Main character.Promptbook or Prompt Copy:
Edited version of a play in which an acting
company inserted stage directions.Re-Enter:
Stage direction indicating the re-entrance onto
the stage of a character or characters.Scene:
(1) Time and place of the action in a play; (2)
part of an act in a play that usually takes place
in one location.Sennet:
Trumpet flourish to introduce the entrance of a
character, such as King Lear (Act 1).Soliloquy:
Long passage in which a character reveals his
thoughts to the audience but not to other
characters. Hamlet's famous "To be or not to be"
speech is an example.Solus:
Stage direction indicating a character is alone on
the stage.Stage Directions:
Information in the script of a play that
instructs the director, the actors, and others
involved with the production (including
musicians and stagehands who generate special
effects) on gestures,
sound effects, emotional responses of characters,
the
geographical
location
of
a scene, the moment when a character should
enter or leave a scene,
the way a character should recite a line,
and so on. The stage directions are usually enclosed in
brackets.Stationers' Register: Book
in which the English government required
printers to register the title of a play before
the play was published. The full official name
of the Stationers' Register was the Hall
Book of the Worshipful Company of Stationers.Thrust Stage: Stage
of a Shakespeare-era theater, so called
because it thrust forward into the audience.Tiring
House: Dressing rooms of actors behind a
wall at the back of the stage. To tire means to
dressóthat is, to attire oneself.Sometimes, the wall of the tiring house
could stand as the wall of a fortress under
siege.Trap Door: A hinged
wooden flap in the
floor of a stage. It could act as an
entrance or exit for ghosts and witches. It could also
serve as the entrance to a tomb.Torches:
Stage direction indicating that entering
characters are carrying lit torches.Tucket:
Stage direction indicating a trumpet flourish.Within:
Stage direction indicating that a person speaking
or being spoken to is behind a door or inside a
room.